TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Ketter, Laura
AU  - Morris, Todd
AU  - Yu, Lizi
        TI  - A New Equilibrium: COVID-19 Lockdowns and WFH Persistence
        PY  - 2025/Jun/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17975
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp17975
        AB  - This paper documents a robust link between COVID-19 lockdowns and the uptake and persistence of working from home (WFH) practices. Exploiting rich longitudinal data, we use a difference-in-differences strategy to compare office workers in three heavily locked-down Australian states to similar workers in less affected states. Locked-down workers sustain 43% higher WFH levels through 2023 — 0.5 days per week — with a monotonic dose–response relationship. Persistence is driven by adjustments on both sides of the labor market: employers downsize office space and open remote/hybrid positions, while employees relocate away from city centers and invest in home offices and technology.
        KW  - COVID-19
KW  - persistence
KW  - WFH
KW  - work from home
KW  - lockdowns
KW  - habit formation
        ER  -